Nearly 20 million students were projected to attend American colleges and universities in this year’s fall semester. That’s about 5 million more students than in the year 2000, but lower than the peak of about 21 million students in the fall of 2010.

Those numbers are from the National Center for Education Statistics, which also estimates enrollment will increase between now and the fall semester of 2027. Those student populations are also expected to be more racially, ethnically and economically diverse than in the past, and that raises some questions about the future of colleges and universities in the U.S.

The Show talked about that with Bryan Alexander, a futurist specializing in the future of education technology.

His new book coming out next year is called "Transforming the University in the 21st Century: The Next Generation of Higher Education."

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